505.49
Rules necessary for operation of township police district.

(1)
The township trustees
of a township police district, by a two-thirds
vote of the board, or a joint police district board, by
majority vote of its members, may adopt rules necessary for the operation
of the township or joint police district,
including a determination of the qualifications of the chief of police, patrol
officers, and others to serve as members of the district police
force.

(2)
Except
as otherwise provided in division (E) of this section and subject to division
(D) of this section, the township trustees of a
township police district, by a two-thirds vote of the board
or the joint police district board, by majority vote of
its members, shall appoint a chief of police for the district, determine
the number of patrol officers and other personnel required by the district, and
establish salary schedules and other conditions of employment for the employees
of the township or joint police district. The
chief of police of the district shall serve at the pleasure of the township
trustees or the joint police district board and
shall appoint patrol officers and other personnel that the district may
require, subject to division (D) of this section and to the rules and limits as
to qualifications, salary ranges, and numbers of personnel established by the
board of township trustees or the joint police district
board. The township trustees may include in the township police district
and under the direction and control of the chief of police any constable
appointed pursuant to section
509.01 of the Revised Code, or may
designate the chief of police or any patrol officer appointed by the chief of
police as a constable, as provided for in section
509.01 of the Revised Code, for the
township police district.

(3)
Except as provided in division (D) of this section, a patrol officer, other
police district employee, or police constable, who has been awarded a
certificate attesting to the satisfactory completion of an approved state,
county, or municipal police basic training program, as required by section
109.77 of the Revised Code, may be
removed or suspended only under the conditions and by the procedures in
sections 505.491 to
505.495 of the Revised Code. Any
other patrol officer, police district employee, or police constable shall serve
at the pleasure of the township trustees or joint
police district board. In case of removal or suspension of an appointee
by the board of township trustees of a township police
district or the joint police district board, that appointee may appeal
the decision of either board to the court of common pleas of the
county in which the district is situated to determine the sufficiency of the
cause of removal or suspension. The appointee shall take the appeal within ten
days of written notice to the appointee of the decision of the board.

(1)
Division (B) of this section does not
apply to a township that has a population of ten thousand or more persons
residing within the township and outside of any municipal corporation, that has
its own police department employing ten or more full-time paid employees, and
that has a civil service commission established under division (B) of section
124.40 of the Revised Code. The
township shall comply with the procedures for the employment, promotion, and
discharge of police personnel provided by Chapter 124. of the Revised Code,
except as otherwise provided in divisions (C)(2) and (3) of this
section.

(2)
The
board of township trustees of the township may appoint the chief of police, and
a person so appointed shall be in the unclassified service under section
124.11 of the Revised Code and
shall serve at the pleasure of the board. A person appointed chief of police
under these conditions who is removed by the board or who resigns from the
position shall be entitled to return to the classified service in the township
police department, in the position that person held previous to the person's
appointment as chief of police.

(3)
The appointing authority of an urban township, as defined in section
504.01 of the Revised Code, may
appoint to a vacant position any one of the three highest scorers on the
eligible list for a promotional examination.

(4)
The board of township trustees of a township described
in this division shall determine the number of personnel required and
establish salary schedules and conditions of employment not in conflict with
Chapter 124. of the Revised Code.

(5)
Persons employed as police personnel in a township described in this division
on the date a civil service commission is appointed pursuant to division (B) of
section 124.40 of the Revised Code, without
being required to pass a competitive examination or a police training program,
shall retain their employment and any rank previously granted them by action of
the township trustees or otherwise, but those persons are eligible for
promotion only by compliance with Chapter 124. of the Revised Code.

(6)
This division does not apply to constables appointed pursuant to section
509.01 of the Revised Code. This
division is subject to division (D) of this section.

(1)
The board of township trustees
or a joint police district board shall not
appoint or employ a person as a chief of police, and the chief of police shall
not appoint or employ a person as a patrol officer or other peace officer of a
township police district , township police department, or joint police district on a permanent basis, on a
temporary basis, for a probationary term, or on other than a permanent basis if
the person previously has been convicted of or has pleaded guilty to a
felony.

(a)
The board of township trustees
or joint police district board shall terminate
the appointment or employment of a chief of police, patrol officer, or other
peace officer of a township police district , township police
department, or joint police district who does
either of the following:

(ii)
Pleads
guilty to a misdemeanor pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement as provided in
division (D) of section
2929.43 of the Revised Code in
which the chief of police, patrol officer, or other peace officer of a township
police district , township police department,
or joint police district agrees to surrender the certificate awarded to
that chief of police, patrol officer, or other peace officer under section
109.77 of the Revised
Code.

(b)
The
board shall suspend the appointment or employment of a chief of police, patrol
officer, or other peace officer of a township police district
,
township police department, or joint police
district who is convicted, after trial, of a felony. If
such
chief of police, patrol officer, or other peace officer
files an appeal from that conviction and the conviction is
upheld by the highest court to which the appeal is taken, or, if no timely
appeal is filed, the board shall terminate the appointment or employment of
that chief of police, patrol officer, or other peace officer. If the chief of
police, patrol officer, or other peace officer of a township police district
,
township police department, or joint police
district files an appeal that results in that chief of police's, patrol
officer's, or other peace officer's acquittal of the felony or conviction of a
misdemeanor, or in the dismissal of the felony charge against the chief of
police, patrol officer, or other peace officer, the board shall reinstate that
chief of police, patrol officer, or other peace officer. A chief of police,
patrol officer, or other peace officer who is
reinstated under division (D)(2)(b) of this section shall not receive any back
pay unless the conviction of that chief of police, patrol officer, or other
peace officer of the felony was reversed on appeal, or the felony charge was
dismissed, because the court found insufficient evidence to convict the chief
of police, patrol officer, or other peace officer of the felony.

(3)
Division
(D) of this section does not apply regarding an offense that was committed
prior to January 1, 1997.

(4)
The suspension or termination of the appointment or employment of a chief of
police, patrol officer, or other peace officer under division (D)(2) of this
section shall be in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

(E)
The
board of township trustees or the joint police district
board may enter into a contract under section
505.43 or
505.50 of the Revised Code to
obtain all police protection for the township police district
or joint police district from one or more
municipal corporations, county sheriffs, or other townships. If the board
enters into such a contract, subject to division (D) of this section, it may,
but is not required to, appoint a police chief for the district.

(F)
The members of the police force of a township police district of a township, or of a joint police district board comprised of a
township, that adopts the limited self-government form of township
government shall serve as peace officers for the township territory included in
the district.

(G)
A chief
of police or patrol officer of a township police district,
township police department,
or joint police district may participate, as the
director of an organized crime task force established under section
177.02 of the Revised Code or as a
member of the investigatory staff of that task force, in an investigation of
organized criminal activity in any county or counties in this state under
sections 177.01 to
177.03 of the Revised
Code.